after years of prodding, I finally get my buddies to come along to Downrigging Weekend

it is November, it is Halloween Weekend

the trees are wearing sweaters and even the Newfoundlands are wearing raincoats

it's a good day for ducks

The Silent Maid's flag (biggest.. one.. there...) and a foulies-clad sailor add color to the rainy waterfront.

I had booked a sail on schooner Sultana, but due to the unsavory (and unsafe for sailing) weather, sails were cancelled. We took some pics from the docks.

The crew of the Silent Maid hang onto summer as long as they can...

Chestertown's historic district added color to a grey day.

...it was also a bit haunted...

After touring Chestertown and burning some memory card, we dove into the heated tents by the waterfront for some good grub and live music.

The rain lightened and the ships opened for deck tours.

the rain lightened, vanished with the wind, 
the wind died down, 
the sun poked out long enough to light the masts with one last gleam, 
the dock lights came on
we set up on a dock with our tripods
then I moved to the riprap rocks bordering the tidal river
to avoid the thunder and vibration of tourist feet
perched on a set of sharp rocks and a backpack
I wedged my tripod into cracks
took a last few shots with the digital camera
then pulled out the old Pentax K-1000
best bare bones camera ever
with one 50mm lens
and a yard sale tripod
I peered through the viewfinder
a viewfinder! not a digital screen glowing in the dark
I bracketed shots from ten seconds to two minutes
on film I'd had in the camera bag for years
that shot is the digital one
now let's see what happened with the film...


(coming soon)